1. Field of the Invention
The present invention, relates to an electrical junction box mounted in an engine room of an automobile.
2. Description of the Related Art
A moving vehicle incorporates various electronic devices, the moving vehicle being typically, but not limited to, an automobile. In order to power these electronic devices, the automobile has an electrical junction box that incorporates electrical components including a connector, a relay, and a fuse. The electrical junction is provided at a predetermined location between a power source and the electronic devices.
The electrical junction box may be referred to as a junction block, a fuse block, or a relay box. In this description, the junction block, fuse block, and relay box are hereafter generically referred to as the “electrical junction box.”
FIG. 14 is a perspective view illustrating part of such a conventional electrical junction box, and FIG. 15 a perspective view of the electrical junction box illustrated in FIG. 14 viewed from an opposite side thereof. The conventional electrical junction box 101 (for example, see Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. 2000-125450) comprises a junction-box body 102 that has an outlet 102a for discharging water that may reside inside thereof, and a bracket 105 adapted to attach the junction-box body 102 to a vehicle-body panel 200.
The junction-box body 102 takes a shape of a box defined by outer walls 103, 104, inside of which various electrical components (not shown) are accommodated.
The outlet 102a extends through the outer wall 104 of the junction-box body 102, the outer wall 104 facing the vehicle-body panel 200.
The bracket 105 resides between the junction-box body 102 and the vehicle-body panel 200. A bolt may be inserted into the bracket 105 and screwed to the vehicle-body panel 200, so that the junction-box body 102 is attached to the vehicle-body panel 200 via the bracket 105 (see FIG. 14).
As shown in FIG. 14, in the state where the junction-box body 102 is attached to the vehicle-body panel 200 via the bracket 105, a gap may exist between the outer wall 104 having the outlet 102a and the vehicle-body panel 200. This means that an opening of the outlet 102a may be exposed to an outside of the outer wall 104.
The engine room in which the conventional electrical junction box 101 is mounted may be washed under application of pressurized water (i.e., subjected to high-pressure washing). Understandably, as the automobile is high-pressure-washed, water used in the high-pressure washing may enter an inside of the junction-box body 102 of the electrical junction box 101 via the opening of the outlet 102a. 